Work-related injury fatalities have dropped
dramatically, both overall and in particularly high-risk industries like
mining. If workers in the late 1990s were still dying at rates experienced
in the 1930s, an additional 40,000 lives would be lost each year to
workplace injuries. This progress has been achieved through the efforts of
workers, unions, employers, government agencies, and others by such means as
research, education and training, and regulatory actions. The mechanisms of
change have ranged from physical workplace modifications like improved
ventilation and safer equipment to the introduction of safer work practices
and better training of workers . For example, since the first decades of
this century, various safety measures have reduced the average number of
U.S. miners killed annually in coal mine fires and explosions (from an
average of 477 deaths per year in 1906-1910 to fewer than 3 deaths per year
in 1991-1995).

Heat-Related Illnesses and Deaths — Missouri, 1998, and
United States, 1979-1996
Injuries, illnesses, and deaths from both man-made
and weather-related heat can be prevented.

During 1979-1996, exposure to extreme hot
temperatures caused an annual average of 381 deaths in the United States.
Persons at increased risk for heat-related illness and death include the
very young (infants), the elderly (>65 years); persons with impaired
mobility; persons physically active in hot environments, who fail to rest
frequently or drink enough fluids; and persons using certain drugs which
impair thermoregulatory function or inhibit perspiration. In addition,
excessive alcohol consumption can cause dehydration and be a predisposing
risk factor. This report describes four instances of heat-related deaths
that occurred in the State of Missouri in 1998, summarizes U. S.
heat-related deaths during 1979-1996, and describes the risk factors
associated with heat-related illness and death. For more information on
extreme visit this site,
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/emergency/heat.htm

Creating Safer Workplaces

At the beginning of this century, workers in the United States faced
remarkably high health and safety risks on the job. Through the efforts of
individual workers, unions, employers, government agencies, academic
researchers, and others, considerable progress has been made in improving
safety and health at work. If workers today had the same risk of dying from
injuries as workers in the 1930's, an additional 40,000 lives would be lost
each year. Despite the success achieved to date, much work remains to be
done, with the ultimate goal that all workers have a productive and safe
working life and a retirement free from occupational disease and injury.

While historical data are limited, the following information highlights
the overall declines in occupational fatalities during this century.

Decreases in fatal occupational injuries

From July 1906 through June 1907 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 195
steelworkers died in workplace incidents. In 1997, workplace incidents
killed 17 steelworkers nationwide.

From 1911 through 1997, approximately 103,000 miners died at work.
From 1911 through 1915, there were an average of 3329 mining deaths per
year, corresponding to an overall average annual fatality rate of 329 per
100,000 workers for this industry. Over the century, the injury fatality
rates for miners have decreased nearly 13-fold, to 25 per 100,000 during
1996-97. The corresponding average annual number of deaths in the mining
industry has dropped from 3329 to 89, approximately a 37-fold decrease.

In 1912, an estimated 18,000-21,000 workers died in the United States
from work-related injuries. In 1913, the Bureau of Labor Statistics
documented approximately 23,000 industrial deaths among a workforce of 38
million, for a rate of 60.5 deaths per 100,000 workers. National Safety
Council data from 1933 through 1997 indicate that work-related death rate
declined 90%, from 37 per 100,000 workers in 1933 to 4 per 100,000 in
1997. The corresponding annual number of deaths decreased from 14,500 to
5100. During this same period, the workforce more than tripled, from 39
million to approximately 130 million.

Data compiled from CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health (NIOSH), National Traumatic Occupational Fatalities (NTOF)
surveillance system, indicate that the annual total number of deaths
declined 28% from 7405 in 1980 to 5314 in 1995 (the most recent year for
which NTOF data are available). The average rate for occupational injury
deaths for all workers decreased 43% during the same time, from 7.5 to 4.3
per 100,000 workers.

Industries with the highest average rates for fatal occupational
injury during 1980-1995 included mining (30.3 deaths per 100,000 workers),
agriculture/forestry/fishing (20.1), construction (15.2), and
transportation/communications/public utilities (13.4). Leading causes of
fatal occupational injury during the period include motor vehicle-related
injuries, workplace homicides, and machine-related injuries.